[shazamataz]

Ok wow, long post but here goes...

Hi, thanks for posting that example. Here's the difference using dog psychology before using any training method, positive or negative.

First, if you've used dog psychology from the beginning, your dog will be stable and well socialized. In other words, your dog will be polite. He won't attack anyone.

Unless of course your dog has inherited aggression, then no amount of 'dog psycology' will help, this includes fear biting. Although I do understand where you are coming from, sometimes aggression is a learned behaviour and in that case training from the beginning will help.

However, if you have not previously used dog psychology your dog will more than likely exhibit this type of behaviour as well as other unruly behaviours.

Unruly behaviour yes, but temperament is temperament, by not using it you can't say a dog will most likely be aggressive.

Why? Because dog aggression is a SYMPTOM of a larger problem. That problem is specifically called aggression dominance. Addressing the symptom will probably not correct the problem. And this is only one symptom of aggression dominance. There are many others which will probably accompany that symptom.
1. food aggression. The dog won't let anyone come close to his food. Ever heard of biting the hand that feeds them?
2. toy aggression. The dog will become possessive of anything that he plays with. Give him a ball and you won't get it back without a fight.
3. aggression towards children in the family. Dogs will view the children in the family as their subordinates and will forcefully and aggressively make their dominance felt.

So, to correct THE PROBLEM you must establish yourself and every member of your family as a pack leader. Remember that dog psychology is a method of TRAINING THE DOG OWNER how to interact with his dog more effectively. The dog already knows how to be a pack leader and how to be a pack follower. Humans are generally completely oblivious to both.

Agreed on the symptoms, they are the main reasons for aggression and do sometimes coincide (food aggression being the most common).
However, I'm a little confused on your definition of dog psychology... do you mean it is more like just the owner being educated in how to train and react around a dog? Dog psychology is more to do with how a dog thinks and behaves than the owner.

Before I begin. Verbal commands are discouraged. Using the dog's name is discouraged after you begin the walk.

Why? Because obviously the dog doesn't obey verbal commands, so they just add to the confusion. And using the dog's name is discouraged because you want the dog's name to be associated with positive reinforcement when you begin that training.

If we are talking about the dog in Auroras example the dog isn't on leash so I don't know how that would help? :confused: How would the dog know what it is doing is wrong if it's up the other end of the yard and you can't use commands?
In that situation I would recommend obedience training including learning the command "come" and "wait"

The easiest way to become your dogs leader is to take your dog on a power walk.

What is a power walk? A power walk is a walk wherein you will nonverbally communicate to your dog that you are in command of every aspect of his life. Including when and what he smells and when and where he relieves himself.

The control over when and what a dog smells is a big deal because the sense of smell takes up more than half of the dog's brain. If you control his sense of smell, you control the dog.

Here's what to do. First, plan your walk. Plan the time you will take your walk. The best time is after your dog has relieved his bowells. That way your walk won't be interrupted. Plan to take at least one hour. Next, decide your route include in it a place where your dog is permitted to relieve himself. Even though he has already done so, walking moves the bowells and your dog (as well as you) may need to go again.

Makes sense to me, although I would like to hear the Beagle owner on this sites opinion hehe :D

Ok, now here's the instructions:

1. Observe your dog. When he is calm, get the leash. If your dog is typical of an alpha, he will get overly excited when he notices that you have the leash. DON'T DO ANYTHING. Don't look at him, don't acknowledge him UNTIL HE CALMS DOWN. No matter how long it takes. Go to the kitchen and have a snack if you want. Or read a book. But wait until he calms down.

Nothing worse than an overly excitable dog jumping all over you to get to the leash... I have 2 of those :rolleyes:

2. After he calms down call him to you. DO NOT GO TO HIM. He must come to you. He wants to walk and the walk will be his reward for being calm and obedient.

Therefore I repeat again, do not acknowledge him until he calms down and do not go to him. He must come to you.

3. If he gets excited when you call, repeat step 2. Repeat it as often as it takes until your dog is calm.

4. ASSUMING THAT YOUR DOG REMAINS CALM AFTER YOU CALL, and assuming he has come to you when you called. Put the leash on him. If he hasn't come to you with a verbal call alone, you might want to entice him with a bit of food.

4a. For a leash, I prefer a choke collar of some sort. But use whatever is your preference. Only thing is, keep it high on the neck next to his head. Have you ever seen how dog handlers in dog shows place the leash. They do that so that they can have better control of the dog. And the dogs don't seem to mind.

Choke collars shouldn't be used for long walks unless you really know what you are doing. Unless you have been trained in how to use one they can do a lot of damage to the dogs throat, espacially a long walk with an untrained dog.
Show dogs are used to wearing choke chains and only wear them for the few minutes they are in the ring... after that off they come and on goes a soft collar.
For the kind of training you are suggesting a martingale collar would be better, they have a soft front but can still give corrections.

5. Now with the leash on the dog, the dog might get excited again. You must become the strong silent type. Your communication with your dog will be through your leash. SAY NOT ONE WORD. Let me repeat, DO NOT SAY A WORD. Especially do not call the dog's name.

How about "sit" or "stay" to calm the dog down? In stead of just waiting it out for the dogs to calm down on its own.

6. Now, observe your dog. He should be used to your waiting by now. But if he isn't and he is excited, simply observe him. Wait until he sits down AND drops his ears. Do not move if he is in an alert position. If his ears are up and he is looking at the door, do not move.

Wait until he is at ease and looking elsewhere. If he lies down that is even better.

Again... why wait until the dog sits or lays down... why not give them the command to? If I waited until my dogs laid down on their own when they know a walk is coming I'd be there all day. If I asked them to "drop" however and lay on the ground we'd be out the door in less than a minute.
Laying their ears down is pretty irrelevant IMO, but I digress.

7. Now the walk will begin. The alpha dog always leads, therefore you must be the first out the door. If he has beat you to it, return and start from step 6.

Let me give you a few preliminary instructions.

a. Begin to walk and do not stop except to obey traffic laws or UNLESS YOU WANT TO, in order to talk to a neighbor or whatever.
b. Do not let your dog pull you. But if he does, correct him by jerking the leash quickly but firmly to the side. This will throw him off balance.
c. If you must drag your dog, do so.
d. If your dog looks anywhere but at you or forward, correct him by jerking the leash.
e. Do not let your dog sniff the ground, sniff any bushes or trees.
f. Do not let your dog pee. Do not let your dog relieve himself.

I'm sure you have very well trained dogs but I personally think that's a little over the top. Walking should be enjoyable for both the dog and the owner and by taking away every little bit of enjoyment a dog has on a walk doesn't sound very fun. Do you go to the gym, get on a treadmill for an hour and just stare blankly ahead of you? Of course not, you have music to listen to and if you need to use the bathroom you stop and use it before getting back on.

8. Take your dog to an area where he can relieve his bowells, let him do so, then resume your walk. If he doesn't relieve his bowells after whatever amount of time you have planned begin to walk back home.

9. The walk back is the same as the walk home. Don't let him pull, sniff any bushes, trees, poles or anything. Don't let him become fixated on anything or anyone. If he does, correct him with a quick jerk of the leash and keep walking.

10. Finally you are near your house. FREQUENTLY, everything breaks down right here. Don't let that happen. If the dog begins to pull you to get home, jerk him to let him know that is unacceptable and stop. Do not proceed until he is calm and submissive again.

11. Now you are at the door. Stop. Do not move. If the dog pulls towards the door correct him. If he knows the sit command, command him to sit. When YOU are good and ready, open the door. You must enter through the door while your dogs sits and waits outside.

12. Invite your dog in the house. Remove his leash and proceed to live in your house.

If the power walk has worked, you will find that your dog has been transformed. He will become your shadow. He will obey your every command. Sometimes even without speaking. Dogs are either mind readers or they read our body language so well that they appear to be.

An easier version of the power walk is the power bike journey. Everything is the same except you ride a bike and the dog follows beside you. This is easier because the momentum created by the speed of the bike makes it harder to distract the dog. It also tires the dog more quickly so that you don't have to take an hour. And he is so tired that he is more submissive when he gets home.

This is not a one time thing. Do it as often as you can, everyday if possible.

WHY IT WORKS

Because you have proven yourself the leader by showing that you control his behaviour. Including when he relieves himself, whom he meets and what he sniffs and marks.

There are two types of dogs, followers or leaders. They are prepared to follow any human who will lead. But if their human won't lead, they are ready to do it.

If you don't lead them and you don't permit them to lead, they become insecure and all types of behavioral problems ensue.

Ummm, but you aren't permitting them to lead... at all... you keep them on a very tight leash by the sounds of it. And if anyone approaches them on walks they could possibly lash out because you have not allowed them to interact or even look at anything but what is in front of them.
If you don't allow a dog to expereince a variety of different things on a walk when something does happen such as a dog suddenly appearing from around a corner or a child running out from behind a gate how do you know how the dog will react?
Yes, you have trained them how to walk calmly beside you and not to stop and sniff but you need to always expect the unexpected and I try to expose my dogs to as much as I can during a walk. This includes how to greet people, and if the dog is trained to just look straight ahead of them someone suddenly appearing from beside them could startle them easily. By allowing the dog to look at its surroundings and become familiar with them it's more calming and they can see people approaching.

Now, many people object that if you don't let a dog pee and sniff, you aren't letting them be a dog. But that isn't true. You are simply not letting them be a dominant dog. You are letting them be an obedient and well balanced dog who is confident that YOU his leader will protect him and take care of him.

That is the difference. A dominant dog is sure of himself and UNSURE OF YOU. That is why he attacks anyone that comes near the house. He has to protect it.

A calm and submissive dog is confident that his master will protect and take care of him. He will no longer need to show aggression to anyone unless you train him to do so.

Nah, you are just being a killjoy, letting a dog pee on things doesn't make them any more dominant of you, obedience is the key IMO. Getting a dog to follow what you say and do commands the second you give them to them is much more important.
If there is a small fluffy dog running up behind you off-leash would you rather have your dog trained so that it doesn't turn around and that small dog could possibly jump on it, startle it and be killed. Or would you rather allow your dog to turn arouns... see the small dog coming and be able to tell you dog to sit and stay ignoring the approching dog.

Ok, but what if the power walk doesn't work? It worked for me with three dogs. So I have no experience with it not working. However, I have heard that it doesn't always work completely. In that case, I would simply have to address the specific problem.

Yep, every dog is different and every owner is different

Lets say you want to address the people aggression. You prepare to take your walk as before. Now you simply walk into your front yard following all the instructions for the power walk. You go out of the door first and you make sure your dog is calm and submissive before you do anything.

Now you just wait leash in hand. Your dog will go into waiting mode. When you see someone coming you CALMLY observe your dog. If his ears prick, you immediately correct with a quick jerk of the leash and send him back to waiting mode. You do this for as long as you desire. Never permit the dog to escalate to an excited state. Not even if you think he is being friendly. You want him to ignore passersby.

A power walk will not fix aggression, it may aid along with other methods sure, but simply getting your dog to walk beside you will not make it not want to attack people, it will just hopefully give you more control over it.

I hope that helps.

Sincerely,

De Maria

It does, it's another point of view which is great. Hopefully we can discuss our different techniques and ideas about training. I think everyone on this site does things differently, in fact everyone in the world probably does things differently.
The more ideas and techniques we can get the better, just be prepared for a good discussion about them :D

[Lida]

Aurora, Thank goodness you are there for those animals. I can hardly watch "Animal Cops"... I can not imagine having a pet and not taking good care of it. I agree with you, there are some great post on here and I imagine each person does what works for them. I love having all the post and information so we can see what will work for John. Thanks again

[Aurora_Bell]

And one thing for Rick and Lida to remember, you are raising a family pet, not a show dog, not a attack or watch dog. Yes I know all dogs need to be well behaved and well adjusted, properly socialized etc, but even though it's best to have one pack leader, training CAN be a family event! And it sounds like you guys are loving having John in your home and loving the task of making him a well adjusted family member! Keep up the great work!

My dog suffers from interbreed aggression, not something that a power walk or psycho analyzing is not going cure or help. Just patience and hard work. She also has 5 years of previous (non) training I need to fix. :rolleyes:

[shazamataz]

I'm sure the kids would love helping train him and it helps build a strong bond between them.

I think we are on the same page here Bella :)

Sorry to go off on a tangent up there, didn't realise how loooong that post was until I had to scroll down :o

[De Maria]

Ok wow, long post but here goes...

Thanks for posting this. It will allow me to highlight what I believe to be many common misconceptions concerning dogs, dog training and dog psychology.

Unless of course your dog has inherited aggression, then no amount of 'dog psycology' will help, this includes fear biting.

Actually, fear biting is very easily handled with dog psychology. Fear biting stems from the fact that a dog needs to feel that his leader is providing a safe and secure environment. If he doesn't, then he takes his protection into his own hands by biting those whom he considers a threat.

Also, I believe that fear biting is frequently misdiagnosed. It is simply another case of dominance. The dog is letting his followers know when and where he will be touched.

In both cases, the best way to resolve the problem is to establish your leadership role.

As for so called "inherited" aggression, I suppose such a thing may exist. But I've owned several dogs (5 pit bulls) which were supposed to be inherently vicious and in the end, they were simply dogs.

Although I do understand where you are coming from, sometimes aggression is a learned behaviour and in that case training from the beginning will help.

Actually, aggression is sometimes learned, as when a dog is attack trained. But it is mostly instinctive. It is part of the fight or flight instinct which almost every single living thing possesses except maybe opossums which neither fight nor run, but play dead when they perceive danger. At least, that is what I've heard.

In animals which are descended from predators, it is also part of the hunting instinct. And of course, it is also part of the self preservation instinct associated with parental care. In other words, the instinct to protect family and possessions such as food.

Unruly behaviour yes, but temperament is temperament, by not using it you can't say a dog will most likely be aggressive.

I don't know any of these dogs. I'm simply generalizing from my personal experience with dogs I've seen in the past. That's why I ask questions which the individual can use to ascertain whether dominance is the problem.

Agreed on the symptoms, they are the main reasons for aggression and do sometimes coincide (food aggression being the most common).

Good.

However, I'm a little confused on your definition of dog psychology... do you mean it is more like just the owner being educated in how to train and react around a dog?

Yes.

Dog psychology is more to do with how a dog thinks and behaves than the owner.

Precisely. Dog psychology teaches the owner how the dog thinks and behaves so that the owner may know how to respond accordingly.

If we are talking about the dog in Auroras example the dog isn't on leash so I don't know how that would help? :confused:

You take time to plan the session. Part of the plan is to put the dog on leash.

How would the dog know what it is doing is wrong if it's up the other end of the yard and you can't use commands?

Keep reading.

In that situation I would recommend obedience training including learning the command "come" and "wait"

Those commands will be much more easily taught the dog after you establish a leadership relationship.

Makes sense to me, although I would like to hear the Beagle owner on this sites opinion hehe :D

Nothing worse than an overly excitable dog jumping all over you to get to the leash... I have 2 of those :rolleyes:

Choke collars shouldn't be used for long walks unless you really know what you are doing. Unless you have been trained in how to use one they can do a lot of damage to the dogs throat, espacially a long walk with an untrained dog.

I prefer choke collars. I find that they are "self correcting." What does that mean? Well, if you put the collar on the dog high on the neck, as do the show dog handlers, the dog will naturally carry his head high.

If he decides to lower his head to sniff the ground, the choke will tighten automatically and the dog will immediately raise his head again to carry it in the most comfortable position.

Show dogs are used to wearing choke chains and only wear them for the few minutes they are in the ring... after that off they come and on goes a soft collar.

For the kind of training you are suggesting a martingale collar would be better, they have a soft front but can still give corrections.

Be that as it may, I favor the choke collar.

How about "sit" or "stay" to calm the dog down? In stead of just waiting it out for the dogs to calm down on its own.

As I explained before, if the dog is too excited to obey verbal commands or if he considers himself the alpha dog and simply ignores your commands, your verbalizations will simply add to the confusion and create frustration for you and the dog.

Again... why wait until the dog sits or lays down... why not give them the command to? If I waited until my dogs laid down on their own when they know a walk is coming I'd be there all day. If I asked them to "drop" however and lay on the ground we'd be out the door in less than a minute.

Apparently you already have an obedient dog who accepts you as a leader.

Laying their ears down is pretty irrelevant IMO, but I digress.

It is a very prominent sign of being relaxed. Dogs who have their ears pricked are at attention or excited and frequently they are fixated on something which they want.

I'm sure you have very well trained dogs but I personally think that's a little over the top.

Yes. I have never had any complaints about my dogs misbehaving.

Walking should be enjoyable for both the dog and the owner and by taking away every little bit of enjoyment a dog has on a walk doesn't sound very fun.

Thanks for bringing this up. This is possibly the biggest misconception that dog owners have about what their dog is enjoying.

A dog who is sniffing every plant and is aware of every animal and person that is around him is not a dog who is enjoying himself. He is a dog who is concerned about his own safety and yours. He thinks he is the pack leader and is trying to make certain that nothing happens to his pack.

Its like when a human has to walk into a dark alley way. What does he do? Well, we don't have a very good sense of smell. But we try to look behind every nook and cranny that we are approaching. This is the position in which you put your dog every time you leave the house if you have not proven to him that you know what you are doing.

"But he's wagging his tail", you might object. A wagging tail is as significant as a smile on someone's face or as someone who whistles in the dark. Has a strange person ever approached you asking for money? What's the first thing you do? Most people smile to give the impression of not being concerned. Have you ever heard the expression, "whistling in the dark?" Why do people whistle in the dark? Is it because they are happy or to give the impression that they aren't afraid?

Do you go to the gym, get on a treadmill for an hour and just stare blankly ahead of you? Of course not, you have music to listen to and if you need to use the bathroom you stop and use it before getting back on.

I'm not a dog. And no one is trying to prove they are my leader.

Have you ever been in the army or marines? Have you ever been in any organized sports, basketball, football? Did the drill instructor or coach permit you to play your walkman or to go to the bathroom whenever you wanted?

Ummm, but you aren't permitting them to lead... at all... you keep them on a very tight leash by the sounds of it.

I guess that was a bit confusing. And it's a bit difficult to explain. But I'll try.

The main problem with most dog owners is their complete and utter ignorance of what their dog is communicating. So let me break down and explain my statement. I said:

If you don't lead them

Because most people don't communicate to their dog that they are the pack leader. In fact, because they treat dogs as they though they are four legged people, they inadvertently communicate to the dog that the dog is the pack leader.

and you don't permit them to lead,

But most people don't take the follower role very well either. Have you ever heard the saying, "lead, follow or get out of the way"? Most of us are so inept at dog psychology that we neither lead nor follow nor get out of the way. That is why so many people have dogs which are neurotic. We give them all the signals which they recognize as assigning them the leadership role, but then we lock them up in this huge kennel and leave them all day long. Or we open the door and let people in whom they haven't approved. Or we take their bowl of food. And many, many other things which subordinates are not supposed to do.

The result is that we raise anxious and neurotic dogs.

Let me give you an example that you might identify with. Lets say you have a five year old son. And one day you wake up and your five year old says, "Sorry dad, but I tied you up and I'm going out for the rest of the day. Don't know what time I'll be back."

How will you respond? I imagine that first, you will probably be upset. The first thing that will cross your mind is, "when I get loose I'll give that boy such a tanning that he won't be able to sit for a week."
But then, you will begin to worry about your son being out in the world all by himself, without you to protect him. And you will do your best to get untied so that you can go protect the one you love or die trying.

That is the position you put your dog in when you let him think that he is the leader of your pack and you leave him in the house. Yes, your dog will become accustomed to this, but why put him through it?

they become insecure and all types of behavioral problems ensue.

And if anyone approaches them on walks they could possibly lash out because you have not allowed them to interact or even look at anything but what is in front of them.

That's not been my experience. In every case, when people approach me on walks, my dog simply ignores them. In fact, my dog is usually off leash when I'm in my front yard and the mail carriers love to interact with him. And its been the same with all the dogs I've owned as an adult.

My dogs respond the same when people approach with their own dogs. My dog is calm and submissive. The other people are generally pulling their dogs with all their might trying to prevent an incident. I control mine with a single gesture or word.

If you don't allow a dog to expereince a variety of different things on a walk when something does happen such as a dog suddenly appearing from around a corner or a child running out from behind a gate how do you know how the dog will react?

That's a strange question. Please tell me how to prevent my dog from experiencing a variety of different things on a walk. Especially since I live in the city and strange dogs and children and pigeons and frogs and loud cars and motorcycles run up on us ALL THE TIME.

how do you know how the dog will react?

That is precisely why I consider the power walk so important. We, both I and my dog, learn by experience. When such things happen, I give my dog physical cues as to how I expect him to behave. And he obeys.

Yes, you have trained them how to walk calmly beside you and not to stop and sniff but you need to always expect the unexpected and I try to expose my dogs to as much as I can during a walk. This includes how to greet people, and if the dog is trained to just look straight ahead of them someone suddenly appearing from beside them could startle them easily. By allowing the dog to look at its surroundings and become familiar with them it's more calming and they can see people approaching.

My experience has been exactly the opposite.

Nah, you are just being a killjoy,

Killjoy? If my dog could speak, he'd probably tell you that you are crazy.

My dog and I have a very loving relationship based on trust and affection. He doesn't have to worry about what he is going to do, he knows I will tell him what to do.

But you may have misinterpreted my advice to mean that you can never play with your dog. I thought it went without saying, but I guess I need to explain every little bit.

First of all, when you raise a stable dog that knows you are boss, you won't have to worry about him nipping and biting when you play with him. He will know his rules, boundaries and limitations.

Secondly, the power walk which I described has a step in which I say:
a. Begin to walk and do not stop except to obey traffic laws or UNLESS YOU WANT TO, in order to talk to a neighbor or whatever.

Here's what I do. I take my dog to a nearby parking lot and I let him loose. He sits down and looks at me. Then I wave my hand dramatically and say, "Go play!" And he takes off like a shot. I'm usually with my children and they are usually on bikes, so they race him and they go in circles until he gets tired and starts to walk. Then he usually goes to the grass area and sniffs the trees and whatever he wants. There's a small incline drive there and my kids love to ride up and glide down over and over again. Sometimes he likes to trot beside them as they go up and down.

Oh and people and dogs come by all the time. My dog simply ignores them.

I normally pull out my rosary and pray at least one set of mysteries. It takes approximately 15 minutes to pray each set. After each set of mysteries, I ask if anyone is ready to go home yet. Usually after the second set, everyone is ready. By that time the dog is laying around waiting for us to make the move home.

At that point, I call him, he comes to me and sits in front of me waiting for me to slip the collar around his neck. I do so and we head for home. No sniffing, no peeing unless I permit it. When we get to the door, the dog sits in front until everyone files in. Then one of us turns around and tells him to come in.

Works pretty well.

letting a dog pee on things doesn't make them any more dominant of you, obedience is the key IMO. Getting a dog to follow what you say and do commands the second you give them to them is much more important.

I find that dogs are more obedient when they know you are boss.

continued

[De Maria]

Continued

If there is a small fluffy dog running up behind you off-leash would you rather have your dog trained so that it doesn't turn around and that small dog could possibly jump on it, startle it and be killed. Or would you rather allow your dog to turn arouns... see the small dog coming and be able to tell you dog to sit and stay ignoring the approching dog.

Small fluffy dogs approach my dog all the time. Normally they are unruly, misbehaving dogs whose owners care nothing about training them. I normally permit a little sniffing, but since I'm concerned about any disease they might be carrying, since they normally have no indication that they have been vaccinated, I chase them away and continue about our business.

Yep, every dog is different and every owner is different

What does that have to do with the price of rice in China?

A power walk will not fix aggression, it may aid along with other methods sure, but simply getting your dog to walk beside you will not make it not want to attack people, it will just hopefully give you more control over it.

Back when I was young, I had a couple of dogs with aggression problems. Obedience training didn't fix it.

Ever since I've been applying dog psychology methods, I've never had a dog with aggression problems again.

Whether a power walk will fix aggression problems? Not by itself. If you prove that you are a leader on the walk and only on the walk, your dog will fill the leadership void in the other aspects of your life.

If I gave the impression that a power walk was some sort of magical cure all, I am sorry. I didn't intend to. That is why I also recommended Cesar Milan's books and website. I believe he makes dog psychology more understandable to people than any other source.

It does, it's another point of view which is great. Hopefully we can discuss our different techniques and ideas about training. I think everyone on this site does things differently, in fact everyone in the world probably does things differently.

The more ideas and techniques we can get the better, just be prepared for a good discussion about them :D

Always ready for that.

Sincerely,

[shazamataz]

You seem to know quite a bit about Dogs Maria and it's obvious we have pretty much completely opposite views, strange how people can be brought up learning totally different ideas for the one thing.

I won't go through and highlight all of your post as I don't want to completely take over Ricks thread although your first statement jumped out at me:

Thanks for posting this. It will allow me to highlight what I believe to be many common misconceptions concerning dogs, dog training and dog psychology.

Just wondering why you think I have many misconceptions about dogs?

How did you learn the methods you use out of curiosity?

[Aurora_Bell]

I would also like to know how many and what breeds you work with Maria?

I can honestly say with 100% assurance that Shaz has no mis-conseptiopn of dogs.

Remember when you are watching Caesar or Brad, these are condensed shows. These dogs aren't cured in a half hour like the show portrays. These dogs can take weeks, months, even years to obtain the result.

[Lida]

I'm sure the kids would love helping train him and it helps build a strong bond between them.

I think we are on the same page here Bella :)

Sorry to go off on a tangent up there, didn't realise how loooong that post was until I had to scroll down :o

I appreciated your time!

[Alty]

Wow, this thread is becoming a book. Lots of info for Rick, Lida and family.

DeMaria, I can see that you definitely love Cesar's methods, and when he does his 1/2 hour show making people believe that his methods are really that easy and that attainable, yes, it does look impressive. It isn't reality.

Most of the dogs he works with have never had any type of training at all. I'm not saying that his methods are wrong, many of the things he does are not a bad idea at all, but, had the dogs on his show had training of any kind from their owners, they wouldn't need dog psychology.

I won't go through all of your posts because, like Shazzy, I don't want to completely take over Ricks thread and I want Rick and his family to get positive, good, workable advice.

Cesar Millans show is great. It's fun to see all the different dogs and families that love them. I love his accent and he's a very handsome man. Many of his techniques are worth trying, but the majority aren't, unless you already have a very unbalanced dog, in which case you shouldn't attempt Cesars methods on your own.

There is more than one right way to raise a puppy, but, I'm sure there are some things every dog lover can agree on. Never hit, never dominate, never yell.

I am curious to know DeMaria, how do you come by the information you've posted? How many dogs do you have? How long have you been training dogs? What breeds, and what were the results?

I currently have 3 dogs in my home, a 15 year old lab cross, an 8 year old border collie cross and our little devil the 2 year old beagle. I've had dogs all my life, since birth actually. Cesar's show wasn't around back then, we just went with what was logical, and we still do. I have 3 very balanced very happy, very well behaved dogs. The whole family is involved with their every day care, training, walking, you name it. I've used the methods I've stated in this thread, and they've worked very well.

Yes you have to have leadership, but you also have to enjoy your dog, otherwise what's the point of having one?

Rick, Lida, you two have good hearts, a great family, and you obviously care about little John. You are doing the right things with him. Patience, love, consistency, training, and letting the entire family enjoy this little guy. You'll get there and I doubt very much you'll have to call in a psychologist. ;)

[Cat1864]

On a different subject, have you trimmed John's toenails, yet or brushed his teeth?

[shazamataz]

I think I must be the only one here who doesn't brush their dogs teeth :o

Brodys are squeeky clean and white as snow but Pradas are looking a little grungy, maybe I will have to cave in and give it a shot :eek:

[Sariss]

I don't! Haha. I wish I could, but my dog does noooot tolerate it. I'll just make sure he gets his teeth cleaned before they get too bad, they were cleaned when I got him neutered at 1.5years.

[Aurora_Bell]

I do, but only because I have been at the receiving end of a very costly vet bill for pulled teeth.

Crunchy dog food, bones and treats are all supposed to do the same thing, but I still brush their teeth. But don't use me as an example, I just spent $30 on a separate tank for a sick fish I didn't even want to begin with...

[shazamataz]

My dad wraps a piece of rough gauze around his thumb and just flicks the tartar off with a combination of gauze and his own nail.
I don't have strong enough fingers for that but it does work.

Anyone got any home-made doggy toothpaste recipes?

[Aurora_Bell]

1. 6 teaspoons of baking soda
2. 1/3 teaspoon of salt
3. 4 teaspoons of glycerin. If you are a vegetarian or vegan dog owner, you can opt for the glycerin that comes from plants.
4. In addition to these ingredients, you can either mix in 2 teaspoons of organic, low-sodium beef broth or 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract.


You can skip the glycerin, it's just a looser paste..

[Aurora_Bell]

OR...

Sweet and simple and oh so good!
Take a liver treat, smoosh it up in a small cup or dish. Add a drop or two of water and rub the bristles of a toothbrush in it. It's the brush that does the work.

[shazamataz]

Darn had to spread the rep Bella but thanks! I'd rather make my own so I know exactly what goes in it.

[Catsmine]

I think I must be the only one here who doesn't brush their dogs teeth :o

Brodys are squeeky clean and white as snow but Pradas are looking a little grungy, maybe I will have to cave in and give it a shot :eek:

The Hurricane's teeth are blinding white. We use one of the doggie-floss ropes to play tug-o-war which she loves. With a little luck it will make it to six months before disintegrating.

[De Maria]

You seem to know quite a bit about Dogs Maria and it's obvious we have pretty much completely opposite views, strange how people can be brought up learning totally different ideas for the one thing.

I won't go through and highlight all of your post as I don't want to completely take over Ricks thread although your first statement jumped out at me:

Just wondering why you think I have many misconceptions about dogs?

I get that impression from your messages to me. For instance, you seem to confuse Dog Psychology with Dog Training. You didn't know that Dog Psychology is primarily for teaching the dog owner how to relate to his dog.
Differences between dog trainers and dog behaviorists

Along with other things which you said. But as you said, no need to go over the entire message again.

How did you learn the methods you use out of curiosity?

Personal study and experience with my personal dogs. I am not a professional dog behaviorist nor dog trainer. However, I am quite satisfied with the results I've had with my dogs and I believe others can learn from my experience.

Sincerely,